Dual battery setup questions

[korygrandy]

Okay, after reading some posts I have some questions. I want to run 2 batteries in my boat, 1 for starting and 1 for my accessories. I'm curious what the best setup would be.

My accessories only include my dash cluster, a depth finder, an amp and a stereo receiver.

President LTD 260 - .25amps max
Kenwood Receiver - 10amps
Clarion Amp - 58 amps max but probably closer to 32amps constant

I was going to go a VSR route with some isolators but now I am seeing there are battery chargers like the promarine. Would I need to install both of these or would the in-house battery charger do the trick?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Dual battery setup questions

I think you are mistaken on several points.

1) The "in-house" battery charger you refer to is actually an "on-board" charger. As such it has nothing to do with charging batteries from the engine. The charger is permanently mounted in the boat and you plug it into 120 volt AC power at the dock or at home if this is a trailer boat.

2) The on-board charger is optional. If the engine has a large enough alternator you can use the switch to send its output to either or both batteries. If you make only short trips however, you are advised to install an on-board charger.

3) A VSR/ACR are essentially automatic and sends charging current first to BAT #1 and when it is charged, it sends the charge to BAT #2. Unless the unit has a COMBINE function BAT #2 cannot be used to start the engine like using BAT #2 or BOTH in a switch system. With a VSR or ACR there is no reason to add isolators as well unless you have a more complex wiring scheme in mind.

4) Leave everything except the stereo head unit and amp as it is. Connect the head unit and amp to the second battery. With the key off, the gauges draw no power. The locator is very low power and the nav/anchor lights also draw little power.